The Cleveland Cavaliers will try to snap their first losing streak since the middle of January when they face the Atlanta Hawks in an Eastern Conference showdown on Friday night. Cleveland closed the first half of the season with a loss at Philadelphia and returned from the All-Star break with a loss to Denver on Thursday. Atlanta is playing its first game in nine days and is trying to get back to the .500 mark overall this season.
Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET from State Farm Arena in Atlanta. The latest Hawks vs. Cavaliers odds from Caesars Sportsbook have Atlanta as 1 point favorites, while the over/under is set at 227.5. Before entering any Cavaliers vs. Hawks picks, you'll want to see the NBA predictions from the model at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past four-plus seasons. The model exits the NBA All-Star break on a stunning 55-30 roll on all top-rated NBA picks this season, returning nearly $2,100. Anyone following it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Hawks vs. Cavaliers. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several NBA betting lines for Hawks vs. Cavs:
- Hawks vs. Cavaliers spread: Hawks -1
- Hawks vs. Cavaliers over/under: 227.5 points
- Hawks vs. Cavaliers money line: Atlanta -110, Cleveland -110
- Hawks vs. Cavaliers picks: See picks here
Why the Hawks can cover
Atlanta flipped a page during the All-Star break, firing coach Nate McMillan and appointing Joe Prunty as the interim coach. Prunty has been an assistant with seven teams in the NBA, starting with a stint under San Antonio's Gregg Popovich. He was also the interim coach with Milwaukee in 2018, posting a 21-16 record during that time.
The Hawks are going to have a rest advantage on Friday night, as they have not played since before the All-Star break. Cleveland is going on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back after losing to Denver on Thursday. The Cavaliers have not been good against Atlanta in recent years, going 1-4 straight up and against the spread in the last five meetings between these teams.
Why the Cavaliers can cover
Atlanta put together a very disappointing opening half of the season, leading to McMillan's firing. The Hawks entered the All-Star break in eighth place in the Eastern Conference with a sub-.500 record, losing eight of their last 13 games. They gave up 144 points in a loss to Charlotte and 122 points in a loss to New York in their final two games before the break, never competing in either of those contests.
Cleveland has lost back-to-back games for the first time since the middle of January, suggesting that the Cavaliers will bounce back on Friday night. Evan Mobley scored 31 points and grabbed nine rebounds against Denver on Thursday, while Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland each had 22 points. The Cavaliers have covered in six of their last nine games, and Atlanta has only covered twice in its last six games. Cleveland also gets to face a shorthanded Hawks team that will be without starting power forward John Collins (concussion).
How to make Cavaliers vs. Hawks picks
The model has simulated Hawks vs. Cavaliers 10,000 times and the results are in. We can tell you that the model is leaning Over, and it's also generated a point-spread pick that is hitting in well over 50% of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Cavs vs. Hawks? And which side of the spread is hitting well over 50% of the time? Visit SportsLine to see which side of the Hawks vs. Cavaliers spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that has crushed its NBA picks, and find out.
